1. Hi Michael! 2020 has been a pretty big year for you and See Your Shadow Songwriting. Why do you think, that in a year filled with so much turmoil and uncertainty, that your music has been able to break thru?
Well hello and yes 2020 has been a really good year for See Your Shadow. Of course, I can’t take the credit for it. I have a fantastic team behind me and while I am the face and the soul of See Your Shadow, any success we have is a completely collaborative effort. I think people have responded so well to the material because our work makes you feel and evokes emotion and people respond to music on a molecular level and our material gives the one, two punch people have been hungry for and our work is not like any other, you never know what we are going to do next.
2. Your latest single is a country music instrumental. Are you crazy, or brave?
Oh, I’ll be the first one to tell you that I am completely insane and brave at the same time. Artistically, I have never been afraid to take risks and do things that haven’t been done before and I think that is also one of the reasons why people do respond to the music that See Your Shadow creates. It’s refreshing to not be cookie cutter and buck industry norms. I am a believer of going with your gut and holding true to my instincts have paid off on many projects. When we decided to release “My Worth” as our follow up to, “I Will Tell Jesus You Said Hello”, of course my people thought it was crazy, but it is rare that musicians get to shine unless they are doing a live performance and I wanted to showcase the talent of the musicians in the stable.
3. Any plans for getting out on the road once COVID restrictions are lifted?
There are a lot of leisure travel plans on the horizon as I had some good trips planned that I had to cancel. On tap is a trip to Greece, South Africa, Spain, plus before COVID hit I had a busy tour schedule planned not to promote the music, but the television projects that we were creating. I think I had trips to 10 or 12 states lined up, the calendar was extremely packed, and we will probably get that back on track.
4. What has been your favorite show you've played to date, and why?
See Your Shadow is more studio based so we rarely do a live show unless it is a special occasion or event. There was one show we did however where it was Soul Train themed and I got to play the legendary host Don Cornelius. That was a lot of fun because we recreated the show in real time, and it was good reliving all those memories.
5. Tell us about your next release. Anything in the works?
We are super excited about our next release which will out on October 30th. The next release is our holiday record, “Christmas on Cellblock 9”. It’s just a catchy, fun record with a fun video to match. I’ve been wanting to do a Christmas record for a long time now and we have had this song as part of our catalog but it sat on the shelf and then when we decided to revamp our sound, I thought it was time to breathe life into it. All the pieces that we have released this year have been so different from one another and I just love surprising our fans with the diversity of the See Your Shadow catalog. I think this piece will definitely be our legacy piece.
6. What has been your greatest achievement so far?
That’s a really good question because the response depends on how you measure achievements. There are a couple of things that stick out to me. I am really proud of being a member of the Country Music Association and when I got approved to join that was kind of a big deal because it was early on in my career. My talent is often used as a conduit for those that are part of the See Your Shadow Network of Stars to realize their dreams and potential and all the times that I have made that happen for someone I would have to say is my greatest achievement.
7. What's one song that you could listen to everyday, without getting tired of it, and one song you hope to never hear again?
Oh boy, what a question. There are so many songs that I love and could listen to absolutely every day. Probably at the top of that list would have to be my all time favorite song which is the Theme from the “Mahogany” by Diana Ross and I think a song I would be fine with never hearing again would be “Ooh, Ooh Child” by The Five Stairsteps and that is not because I don’t love it, it’s because I would listen to it while I drove back and forth from Phoenix to San Diego to take care of my mom before she died and we used to listen to the piece when I was a kid and I remember I had to pull off the highway and just cried thinking about that time of my childhood and I think hearing that song again will just remind me of my mom’s death and I don’t think I will ever be able to listen to it again.
8. What brought about your change in direction, from dance to country?
Well country has always been my first love so when we rebranded, I wanted to focus on my first love. Not saying that we won’t ever do another dance record, it just all depends on how I am inspired and the project. As a matter of fact, we have a danceable piece coming down the pipeline for the first quarter of next year. So bottom line is, never say never.
9. Thanks again, Michael. Any parting words for our readers?
Well thanks for speaking with me. The one thing that I would like to leave your readers with is
that even though this has probably been one of the toughest years for most people, take solace
in the small victories as they add up to giant achievements.
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